Sterling takes lead at Q School

Thursday

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- Hombre Golf Club toughened up Thursday, but Scott Sterling found the course to be a pushover for the second consecutive day.

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- Hombre Golf Club toughened up Thursday, but Scott Sterling found the course to be a pushover for the second consecutive day.

Sterling matched his first-day score of 6-under-par 65 to vault into first place in the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School with a 12-under 130. Sterling leads Vince Covello by one stroke atop the leaderboard.

Hombre offered little resistance during the event's first round when 44 players managed to shoot under par. The 6,800-yard course played a little tougher during the second round, a result of cooler temperatures and persistent wind that largely was nonexistent during the opening day.

Sterling finished with eight birdies and two bogeys during his round. He said he has played Hombre "six, eight, maybe nine times" at Q School events over the years, and his familiarity with the course layout has been an advantage. Through two days he is 4-under on Hombre's par-3s, 4-under on the par-4s and 4-under on the par-5s.

"I hit it good again," Sterling said. "My putter is still working. I made a lot of putts. I made a bunker shot. I'm pretty fortunate to score (low) today. I hit it solid."

Sterling and others said Hombre's soft greens have been receptive through the first two rounds. Players have been targeting the pins where accessible and settling for approach shots in the middle of the green when they aren't.

"The greens are a little bit faster today, but compared to years past they're pretty soft," said James Bowen, who shot a 2-under 69 during the second round and is tied for ninth place at 6-under 136.

Vince Covello and Lee Bedford each rocketed up the leaderboard with identical 6-under 63s, matching the opening-round score of first-day leader Fabian Gomez. Covello had a whopping 10 birdies (and two bogeys), and Bedford's nine birdies propelled him into a tie with Bowen and two others for ninth place.

The top-19 placers (and ties) after four rounds will advance to Q School's final stage. The cut, if the scores through the first two days were to be duplicated over the final two, would stand at 8-under, which is almost unheard of during Hombre's 20-year history hosting the event. Thirteen players currently are within two strokes of 19th place.

Gomez scorched Hombre's Bad and Ugly courses on Wednesday with a first-round 63, and he followed that with a 69 in the second round. He sits alone in third place, two strokes behind Sterling at 10-under 132.

Gavin Coles and Chad Collins also remain in contention at 9-under and 8-under, respectively.

Sterling, Covello and Gomez tee off on Hole No. 1 today in the final group at 9:45 a.m.

Twenty-four players broke par on Thursday, and Brent Delahoussaye was among those who took a step backward on the leaderboard in the second round. Delahoussaye was 6-over and joined a sizable collection of players who will have to rally over the final 36 holes to preserve their shot at advancing to Q School's final stage and securing a one-year membership on the PGA Tour.

"I don't even know what the (cut) number will be," Delahoussaye said. "I'll just try to make as many birdies as I can and see how it falls."

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